7. THE MALADY AND THE REMEDY Like the fragrance hidden in flowers, the Lord is hidden in you. Like the mad musk deer that seeks the source of its own fragrance elsewhere, why seek the Lord elsewhere, O foolish one! Embodiments of love, Man today seeks God outside him, while God is in him. As ash covers embers, attachment and hatred cover man and conceal God’s form. As ash is blown away from the embers, hatred and attachment can also be blown away. Then man will have the vision of Divinity. The mental workings of men differ from one another. The mental processes of man differ, depending upon his role as father, husband, grandfather and child. These mental processes vary according to varying situations. The kind of relationship that exists amongst people decides the nature of their mental responses. The love that the mother has for a daughter is different from the love that she has for her daughter-in-law. The love one has for one’s own son is different from the love that one has for the son-in-law. The infatuation that one has for one’s wife is different from the reverential affection one has for one’s mother. What is the cause of all this? It is the relationship which determines responses like love, affection, infatuation etc. Why is the mind bound by these ephemeral and transient relationships? THE PANCHA KLESHAS: 60 Summer Showers In Brindavan 1993 What is the cause for man’s sorrow, delight and infatuation? The cause can be traced to the different ‘Kleshas’ (sorrows) which afflict man from time to time. The first sorrow which afflicts man is ‘Avidya Klesha’ (the sorrow caused by ignorance). Deluded by the feeling that he is the body and that God is elsewhere and much different from him, man makes a misery of his life. The ignorant belief that God and man are poles apart, creates a distance between him and God and causes anguish in him. Though man knows for certain that the mind is the cause for his bondage, he does not strive to restrain the mind and suffers as a consequence. Though he is well aware that the mind is the source of agony, anguish, attachment and host of other worries, he makes no effort to quell the mind. The sorrow that man suffers as a consequence of his complacence is called ‘Abhinava Klesha.’ The man who is sunk in the mire of materialistic joys is afflicted by sorrow, as ‘Vishaya’ (Sensual Joys) is nothing but ‘Visha’ (Poison). In his frantic craving for enjoying the sensual joys, a human loses his discrimination and suffers from many a sorrow. Man takes materialistic joys as the summum bonum of life and suffers untold miseries. All the sorrows born of such materialistic attitudes on the part of man, are known as ‘Asthitha Klesha.’ There are also human beings who are lured away by the desire to acquire wealth and property and toil day and night to satisfy their insatiable cravings to acquire more and more. Disregarding food, sleep and rest, man struggles from dawn to dusk to acquire wealth and property. Unable to restrain his desire to accumulate these materialistic acquisitions, he makes a misery of his life, though he knows thoroughly that wealth and property are ephemeral and impermanent. It is man’s infatuation to satisfy his insatiable greed which afflicts him. The affliction born out of this infatuation is known as ‘Raga Klesha.’ Summer Showers In Brindavan 1993 61 Hatred arises as a sequel to the frustration born of disillusionment. People prompted by the expectation of rewards seek shelter at the feet of men. But when the due rewards do not follow their efforts, they feel shattered and disillusioned. They harbour hatred against these men who fail to reward them. Anger also arises as a result of the selfishness and self-interest which they nourish within themselves. Man approaches and adores people prompted by selfishness. But when these men fail to meet their selfish demands, he becomes angry and suffers as a result. There are some men who harbour hatred against God, when God does not condescend to their desires. The grief which arises as a result of hatred is called ‘Dvesha Klesha.’ Such an unfortunate person is an easy prey to distress and disappointment and disregards the presence of the Self within him. The delusion that he is the body and that Divinity is different from him is the cause of man’s sorrow. THE STATES OF MAN: The world presents a motley spectacle of people undergoing varying experiences. There are some men who appear to be ever peaceful and there are also men who appear to be ever sorrowful. There are also men who appear to be experiencing joy as well as sorrow; and there are also men, lost in Divine intoxication, totally blissful. What is the cause for these different states of man? Mind is the cause for all this. The presence of the demon, the beast, the human and the Divine in man is the cause; and but for all this, the mind is the main cause. It is only in man that we have the ‘Human- divine,’ the ‘Human-human,’ the Human-demon’ and ‘Human- animal.’ All these are deeply rooted in the mind of man. 62 Summer Showers In Brindavan 1993 It is said ‘Brahmahanista Paro Devaha.’ Ever established in Divine consciousness, performing actions and duties enjoined on him for the pleasure of the Lord, the Divine man sees Divinity everywhere. To such a man, all forms and beings are the reflections of Divinity; and he leads a life of joy born of Divine intoxication. ‘Sathya Dharma Paro Martyaha.’ Living in the human world, the Human-man treads on the path of truth and righteousness and leads a truthful and righteous life. He scrupulously follows the commandments of ‘Sathyam Vada Dharmam Chara’ and lives a noble life. To such a man, duty comes foremost; and he is also endowed with the noble qualities of compassion, charity, tolerance, sympathy etc. He has no craving for power and pelf. The Demoniac-man is described as ‘Madhyapana Ratho Danavaha.’ The demoniac man gives himself to a life of eating, drinking and sleeping. Devoid of compassion and understanding, discretion and discrimination, he takes delight in inflicting pain on others by abusing them and criticising them. Swayed by selfishness and self-interest, he strives for his own joy and does not contribute to the happiness of others in the least. He harbours hatred and jealousy against righteous and noble people and flies into a rage at their very sight. The Demoniac man is the very embodiment of evil qualities, evil thoughts and evil feelings. The Human-animal is infatuated by sensual pleasures and spends his lifetime in seeking sensual joys from birth to death. He lives the life of a beast, steeped in selfishness and sensual pleasures. The laws of reason and season are flouted without any compunction of conscience, though the animals observe these laws scrupulously. There is no end to the vices to which he is a prey. There is no room for virtues like righteousness and love of justice in the heart of the Human-animal. Summer Showers In Brindavan 1993 63 The mind is the cause for all this variance of character and conduct. Man must first of all foster faith in the existence of a sacred power in this world. He should also nourish the conviction that in this world, he must lead a perfect life. The world plays its tricks on man, catering to the joys of his senses. It is the world that tempts his body, tantalises his mind, rejoices his eyes and moulds his life. But there is an immortal Divinity in this mortal world. The mortal and the immortal, the temporary and the eternal are the aspects of ‘Satchidananda.’ The perfect world emerges from the all perfect world. Only perfection remains even after the body perishes. It is in the light of this the Upanishads declared ‘Purnamadha Purnamidam Purnath Purnamudhachyathe; Purnasya Poornamadhaya Purnameva Vasishyathe’ That is Full, this is Full. Full is born out of the Full. Fullness deleted from Fullness, is also Fullness. What remains is also Fullness. Everything is Fullness only. Everything in the world is an aspect of ‘Satchidananda.’ Though man is an embodiment of ‘Satchidananda,’ man subjects himself to sorrow and pain by following the vagaries of the mind. The ‘Human-divine’ life is the highest life. The ‘Human-human’ life is a medium life. The ‘Human- demoniac life’ and the ‘Human-animal’ lives are the worst. The mind which is the seat of attachment, is the cause for all this confusion. Man is not made of sorrow, man is made of joy. Man is in fact the embodiment of ‘Satchidananda,’ Since he is the embodiment of ‘Satchidananda,’ he should strive sincerely to experience this. In this broad and wide world, we must foster within us broad and noble feelings without giving room for narrow-minded feelings to arise in us. We must cultivate feelings of infinite Love in this infinite world. Cultivating narrow-minded feelings, man leads today a life of distress. Whose fault is this? The fault lies in man who allows himself to be swayed away by his mind. THE POWER OF INTELLECT: 64 Summer Showers In Brindavan 1993 The man who rests on the mind, Falls worse than an animal. The man who rests on the intellect (Buddhi): is transformed into God. What is ‘Buddhi’? The intellect is marked by discretion and discrimination.